Bless It

The last couple of days have been exactly what I didn’t know I needed, and oh, have I ever enjoyed them. Yesterday I stayed in my pajamas all day except for a brief 20-minute window when I did in fact put on real clothes so that the little guy and I could go to lunch. But then I realized that my car battery was dead (all better now, thanks to the husband), so we walked back inside, put on PJs again, and I made us some cheese grits.

As you can tell, our Wednesday was fraught with excitement.

I’ve spent a big chunk of the last two days watching the Passion 2013 live feed, and if you haven’t watched any of the sessions yet, I cannot recommend them enough. The conference is for college students, but as someone who is a couple of decades removed from my college years, I am still encouraged and challenged by what I see and hear. Yesterday morning (Session Two) Beth Moore taught a beautiful lesson on the Last Supper, and it should be online until sometime tomorrow if you’d like to watch it before then (here’s the link if you’re interested).

Right now the youngster is playing with a friend, so I thought I’d take a second and see if the Internet can solve a problem I’m having. It was Sunday, I think, when I noticed that I kept feeling like I needed to sneeze – only I never could make the actual sneezing happen. My nose would tickle and my eyes would water, but there was no follow-through. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, but I figured it must just be some sort of sneezing glitch.

But now it’s Thursday. And I still can’t sneeze. I’m sure it’s some sort of psychological thing at this point, but it’s DRIVING. ME. CRAZY. I thought about calling my ENT, but I don’t think I can relay this information to a nurse without laughing my head off. I mean, it’s silly, right? Kind of a ridiculous medical issue, if you think about it. But like I told some friends earlier this afternoon, you don’t know how grateful you are for a good sneeze until the Lord removes the sneeze anointing from your life.

I’ve even started to covet the sneezes of my family members. NO KIDDING. I AM JEALOUS OF THEIR SNEEZING.

Usually when I feel like I need to sneeze I can look at a bright light and settle the sneezing almost instantly, but not this time. The bright light trick isn’t working. I’ve even tried shaking black pepper around the general vicinity of my nose, but it was a no-go. And now, after five days, I have a little bit of concern that when I finally do sneeze (Lord willing), I will shake my house right down to the rafters.

And that’s certainly no way to kick off 2013.

So does anybody have any home remedies? Any suggestions? A similar experience?

My sinus pressure and I thank you in advance. We’re forever grateful for your wisdom.

Comments

I sneeze almost immediately when I use Tony Chachere’s… maybe try that?! I wish I could help, but I’m trying to stop sneezing, myself! =) Get to feeling better Sophie! And what are sinuses good for anyway?!

I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any suggestions for you but I did think it was rather ironic that I sneezed exactly two times after reading your post. Sorry for your delimma. Tater Mama is right, the sneeze-tease is no fun!

I’m sure you know this, but when I feel a sneeze coming on that won’t come out, I look at a bright light and it usually helps. The other thought I had is maybe if you use a neti pot? I have never been brave enough to use one of them myself, but I have heard of people having great results with them. Hope you and your sinuses feel better soon! And I know what you mean about having a day you didn’t know you needed. I have loved this slow week after New Years before the girls go back to school on the 7th!

I’m sorry to say that I have no solutions for your unsneezing. Never even heard of such a thing. But I am no stranger to sneeze coveting. I have a sneeze that will wake the dead, so I’ve always been jealous of those girly sneezes that sound like a hiccup. Except sometimes I wonder how people hold in a sneeze like that without exploding.

I used to volunteer at the Passion Conferences. That’s how you get in when you’re too old to attend. You get to go to the sessions if you volunteer in the missions area since they close it down during that time. I volunteered in the prayer section of the missions center. Seems like that might be up your alley.

Suggestion of a netti pot is great…also you can go to your local drug store and get Saline Spray…help the sinus pressure and hopefully unclog whatever is clogging your “sneezer.”
If you happen to have any of those (ahem nasty) bulb syringes that we use on babies to clear their noses you could use that with a saline and water solution. 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 1 cup of warm…tepid..not hot…least you burn your nostrils :(. Do two or three times a day.
Feel better!!!

Thanks for the tip on Beth Moore. I had been watching the music…but didn’t know who was speaking when! As far as the sneezing, I would go purposely near something you know is an allergen, like dust, mold, etc.

Some really hot chicken noodle soup might clear you up enough to sneeze. My nose runs whenever I eat soup. And generally a good blow will help to clear things up. As a matter of fact I ate chili for lunch today and even that works! I was going to suggest pepper but you’ve tried that and it didn’t work. So I’m thinking you are clogged up. Try the soup. I wouldn’t try to dry it up with antihistamines when what you want is to sneeze it out. Also, this is gross, but if you have a magnifying mirror try looking at your nose hair. Sometimes that can tickle if you have a long one in there. Sorry. lol It is gross but true.
Good luck.

I have been using Eucalyptus Essential Oil with great success here in dry TX! I put 20 or so drops in a pot of boiling water and let it simmer on the stove all day. I have also put some of the oil on a cotton ball and placed in my son’s room when he was suffering with sinus and it gave him some relief. It smells good, too! Hope you feel better soon!

This is going to sound strange but I learned by being a silly teenager that a back massager vibrating on the tip of your nose will indeed make you sneeze. My best friend and I discovered this one day trying to see who could sneeze the loudest. Yes, we were very tan and popular middle schoolers.

I have experienced this and it is miserable! I had a cold and was sneezing nonstop so I took an antihistamine and I stopped sneezing, but it didn’t make the urge to sneeze go away. I would have much rather kept sneezing. I did finally sneeze a doozy a couple of hours later. Sorry, I don’t have any advice to help you sneeze, but I thought it might set your mind at ease a little if you know someone has suffered from it before. Good luck!

Neti Pot for sure; or as I call it, my “nose hose”.
Whitney is right..LEAN FORWARD! I use mine in the shower so I don’t have to fight the urge to look in the mirror and I don’t get water all over everywhere.

I prefer a Nasaline syringe to a neti pot, but the idea is very similar. The trick is to lean over the sink, turn your head so that the nostril you are shooting into is facing up, and then bend your neck down. So it’s a turning movement and a downward movement. All at once.

then spin around three times, spit into the wind, and touch your toes.

Hey! I use a prescription nose spray called Astepro. My sinuses stay so congested year round … and this really helps keep my nose open to breathe. You might ask your dr about it. Best nose spray I have found. When I first spray it … it never fails that I will sneeze, especially when I am really congested.

Just got back from Passion today!
Unreal is the only word I can think of to describe it.
I was a volunteer and served as an usher for my own section and had a blast.
You MUST sign up one day if you can, especially when Alex can go.

Okay, I have been a reader for for-evah, but have never commented. But this post made me laugh…not at you by any means…but I have this same trouble sometimes. I do something that my husband thinks is the grossest thing…but it SO works…and sometimes I do it just for kicks…because sneezing just feels good sometimes!!!

So just get you a little square of toilet paper…roll a corner between your fingers until the corner is in a long wad and has a pointy sharp (as sharp as toilet paper can get) end…then stick it up as far up your nose as you can. Your eyes will water definitely…but it always mkes me sneeze!!!

Sure-fire guaranteed way to make you sneeze. I know this sounds wierd, but do not judge me! Take a kleenex and roll the corner between your finger and thumb to make a little point (about an inch long point). Put it up your nostril about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch and tickle the inside of your nostril. Sneeze WILL happen! I have used this when I’ve been all clogged up with a cold and just needed to get things moving. Do I win a prize for this solution? :) Good luck!

OK, sister, I have BEEN where you are and it is FRUS.TRA.TION. So, go pluck your eyebrows. Instant relief… you may have to pluck few depending on your previous plucking history (i.e. if your nerves have grown insensitive to the plucking), but oh what a glorious day it is when the loudest, most obnoxious sneeze ever comes blasting through that schnoz! Call me when you’re done and we can celebrate!